SEC awards nearly $50,000 to whistle blower

Eileen Ambrose

You can receive big bucks and feel good about yourself to by reporting financial fraud.

This whistle blower program awards 30 percent of the amount recouped once the Securities and Exchange Commission undertakes an enforcement action against the bad actor. To receive an award, however, the fraud must involve sanctions worth more than $1 million.

The SEC announced today that it awarded its first payout — nearly $50,000 — to an unidentified whistle blower who provided documents and other information that helped the SEC with one of its ongoing investigations and prevented further fraud. A court order the wrongdoer to pay more than $1 million. So far, about $150,000 in the penalty has been collected, and the whistle blower will get even more money if additional sums are collected.

In a statement, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro, said the program is a success. “We’re seeing high-quality tips that are saving our investigators substantial time and resources,” she said.